There is an old Chinese story about a poor farmer whose father died in a faraway land. His neighbors called it bad luck. But the farmer said, “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?” With the inheritance, the farmer bought a large property with a great mansion. The neighbors called it good luck. The farmer replies, “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?” His son is injured taming horses but later the injury keeps him from going to war. With each event the farmer asks, “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?”
The farmer’s perspective reminds me of the value of openness in uncertainty, a special freedom. As my state, indeed the world, begins stepping out of quarantine life, I find myself in a new place of unknowing. For some years actually I have been aware of a new threshold emerging – spiritually, ecologically, politically, socially. Many wiser than I have written and preached about how we are on a crucial hinge of history. Recent
current events have exposed crisis and possibility in stunning ways.
Today, thinking about this time of numerous pandemics – coronavirus, racial, economic and political – I am confused and uncertain. Good luck, bad luck, who knows? I need divine wisdom in discerning next steps and call. Most of all, I need to heed today’s gospel message that the Way is already given and the details will be revealed through deeper intimacy with the Beloved.
In today’s gospel* Jesus says don’t worry about not knowing. It is the “gracious will” of God to hide things from the wise and intelligent and to reveal them to infants. But Jesus offers the assurance that he and Abba have a communion of knowledge and will and that he is the source of revelation. Just one thing is needed. Come to me, he says, learn from me. And you will find rest for your souls.
The way forward is clear, however hidden and mysterious. However hidden truth may be, however hidden solutions to our world’s escalating problems may be, however confused or fearful I may be, just one thing is imperative. Come to me. If Jesus could say his yoke was easy and his burden was light, I need to draw closer in trust and learn from him.
–Ann Dean, Dayspring Church
Reflection Questions
- What spiritual practice encourages your drawing closer to Jesus?
- Do you pray for the rest Jesus promises?
- Do you have any new sense of call as you move, however slowly, out of pandemic restrictions?
